How to get bird seed out of grass

Admittedly this isn't something I would normally care about though it is an issue for others that does need sorting out as old bird seed can become an health issue.

How to get rid of bird seeds on your lawn relies on you raking every once in a while. Rake old bird seed to concrete or the pavement to pick up in a dustpan. Better yet, why not vacuum up bird seeds outdoors, weather permitted. Keep the grass short in the meantime to encourage birds to eat the seeds.

Its not terribly hard to get bird seed out of your backyard lawn I can assure you, it just takes a little time and effort, with a repeat action every once in a while - if you do indeed continue to feed wild birds a mix of seeds in the yard.

You can put bird seeds on the ground to attract ground feeding birds to your yard, while there's no guarantee birds will eat them all up, as it depends on the frequency of ground feeding birds visiting your yard.

In addition, wild birds who regularly occupy your bird feeders can be seen to flick seeds out of the feeder, with no common backyard ground birds cleaning it all up below.

Nuisance birds like Magpies can be there to eat bird seeds off the ground yet if seeds continue to pile up, it just could be you don't have the birds foraging on your lawn.

Downside to keeping bird seeds on the ground mind is its an invitation to attract pests to the yard. How you feed ground birds without attract rats is usually on a raised bird feeders, or you would end up not feeding them at all.

Really though what chance do you have discouraging rodents when bird seed is allowed to fester on the grass as it develops bacteria.

Continuously rake grass

What is the first port of call when worrying about bird seed in the grass, that is to only use no grow bird seed - also called no mess bird seed - which is a variety of wild bird seeds altered in a way they can't sprout, and therefore can't grow even a little.

...and hey presto, bird seeds can be left in the grass with no possible way of growing, which would of left an uneven spread of weeds growing directly under bird feeders.

If you feel happier to continue to clean up bird seeds thrown onto the lawn by birds below the bird feeders, you can do so in the easiest way I no possible.

Simply take a sharp, fine comb outdoor rake that can be used to occasionally rake over the lawn.

Admittedly, the rake won't lift up all fine seeds but as a whole, a simple garden rake will pick up most seeds. Most of the mess under a bird feeder can be cleared up this way, while any seeds left behind can be cleaned up next time.

Rake the seeds onto the patio or an area of concrete or pavement off your property if you have to, to finally bring the seeds all together in a pile.

Bring it all into a pile with a dustpan and brush, or a broom on the pavement or concrete, to then throw it all in the trash.

Continue to rake the area under bird feeders or where bird seeds accumulate, like under a tree... on a regular basis to make it easy on you for the foreseeable future.

Vacuum up seeds in dry weather

Probably something you would have never have thought of because it sounds so ridiculous I'll admit, and to be fair it does sound silly to me.

But don't despair, I do believe there is an opportunity to vacuum up bird seeds only on the occasion when weather permits.

I am talking about an electrical appliance thus when the weather is nice and dry - and I do mean the lawn being super dry - you could extend the vacuum for outdoor use, where it will be used to vacuum up bird seeds on the grass.

Better yet, a workshop style vacuum is made for picking moisture thus its worth checking to see if you possess a vacuum that picks up spills.

To really keep the ground under bird feeders clean, and many other areas around the yard, I assure you your household vacuum will absolutely do the trick.

I do hope you decide to intricately vacuum your grass however, as you don't want to pick up unnecessary debris or even insects in the process.

On one hand you could invest in a vacuum for outdoor use only, while keeping risk to your main household vacuum to the minimum.

Invest in an additional cheap stand up or hose type vacuum if you wish, or if looking for something small and more mobile to clean up a little bit of bird seeds at a time, an handheld vacuum could be all that's needed, as made by Black & Decker for example.

No wires of course plus with risk of a surge when vacuuming up water it can cause your power socket to burn out - and of course an electric shock to you - while the more practical battery powered handheld vacuum could be all you need for now.

Lawn must be kept short

What I have provided you thus far is two quite effective ways to get bird seeds out of the grass, via a manual rake of the grass or by actually vacuuming outdoors.

Regardless of what technique is best for you, its imperative for your grass to be kept short as it will be near impossible to rake, lift up seeds by hand... or even spot spilled bird seed in long grass anywhere within your yard.

Mow the lawn as you do while thoroughly mowing the area around the problem patch of grass that is mostly prone to seed build up.

Bonus of keeping the grass cut short of course is it will make it easier for ground feeding birds to spot insects they forage for in yard.

Birds will eat seeds off your lawn thus its vital they can walk around on a lawn that is cut low, making it easy to find earthworms. In the process of foraging on your lawn, did you know these wild birds could actually eat spilled seeds on the ground.

You can encourage such behavior by allowing bird seeds to accumulate under bird feeders, while throwing more bird seed on the ground to attract birds to the area you wish for them to clean up naturally.

Conclusion

What you must realize when it comes to bird seed piling up under bird feeders, or where you happen to throw bird seed on the lawn, is it can be picked up by ground feeding birds, if you can at least attract them to the area.

Then no additional tools would be needed to tidy up the grass, as birds will just eat the seeds as they forage for earthworms in the place where bird seeds are.

Regardless, you only have to continuously rake the grass where the bird seeds pile up in order to keep it reasonably tidy.

No guarantee all old bird seeds will be picked up in the rake but as you'll be coming back to it once in a while... just may be you'll pick up what you missed the next time.

Do use a fine spike rake to go over the problem area once in a while to prevent a noticeable, untidy accumulation of wild bird seeds.

And with that its essential to only use no grow, no mess wild bird seeds to avoid the seeds on the ground sprouting forever after.

In addition to raking which is the most cost effective way of clearing up bird seeds... and I know this is going to sound quite silly... have you thought about vacuuming up bird seeds in your grass.

I admit there is health and safety issues to contend with, such as the likelihood of using an electrical appliance on damp conditions, thus vacuuming the lawn must be limited to only in super dry, sunny days.

You can invest in your own vacuum to use outdoors while keeping your main vacuum for the purpose it was made for. To use your main vacuum outdoors could risk staining it, which could lead to ruining your carpet with grass stains.

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